Friday, April 16, 2021
Book Friday: Mystics in Hell
Friday, April 9, 2021
Book Friday: The Worthless Painting
The Worthless Painting
Small-town cozy mystery novelette.
Danielle’s life
spins out of control when the snobbish new owner of the Couture mansion brings
a seemingly worthless painting into her antique shop. The ownership of the
painting is questionable, and the town’s future is threatened by the plans of
the ruthless, rich owner. An unexpected visitor arrives, and he may possess the
much-needed solution to everyone’s problems.
Monday, April 5, 2021
Your Cat is a Chatterbox
Cats don't use words to talk, of course!
Read my previous post about cats:
Author of epic fantasy, alternate history, sweet romance, romantic suspense, dystopian and cozy mystery novels, short stories, as well as YA and children’s books
Friday, April 2, 2021
Book Friday: The Chunky, Dumpy, Spunky Monkey
Fat-shaming hurts
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Online Magazine, April 2021
Read free online magazines
A WhodunIt Mystery
Check out the monthly magazines, portfolios, and books
Monday, March 29, 2021
Spring Is In The Air
Spring cleaning time
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Re-blogged: Nightmares and Witching Hour
Are you persistently waking up at night at the same time?
Sunday, March 21, 2021
Dangerous Herb-Medication Interactions, Part 2
Is it always safe to use herbal supplements?
Herbal supplements can be purchased over-the-counter (OTC) and may be labeled "all-natural" and are sold in many different forms - dried leaves for teas, powdered, as capsules or tablets, or in solution.
But does "all-natural" mean they are always safe?
Absolutely not! Although herbal supplements may be from plant or herb sources, the active ingredients are potent chemicals. Because of this, herbal supplements can have drug interactions, interactions with other herbs, or with food and alcohol.
Herbal interactions with prescription medications or other chemicals can:
- interfere with how the drug may be broken down in the body
- enhance side effects of prescription medications
- block the intended therapeutic effect of a drug
Alarmingly, feverfew may increase the risk of bleeding, especially in people with blood-clotting disorders or using blood thinners to help prevent clots, for example:
- aspirin
- warfarin
- heparin
- Plavix (clopidogrel)
- Pradaxa (dabigatran)
- Xarelto (rivaroxaban)
- low molecular weight heparins like enoxaparin or dalteparin.
A commonly used flavoring agent, food product, and herbal supplement.
Ginger has been used in the treatment and prevention of motion sickness, vertigo, to increase appetite, to reduce stomach acidity, and to reduce severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
Drug interactions with ginger are not well documented; however, it is known to:
- Inhibit thromboxane synthetase, which can prolong bleeding time and may cause interactions with anticoagulants like warfarin, aspirin, or other blood thinners.
Ginseng has been used in Asian countries for its therapeutic effects for centuries. Today, ginseng use is reported to improve the body's resistance to stress and increase vitality, among other uses.
There are many different origins of ginseng, and many types of drug interactions.
- Long-term use of American ginseng may decrease the effectiveness of warfarin, a blood thinner, and increase the risk for a blood clot. In general, ginseng or ginseng-containing herbal tea should not be used with anticoagulants. Ask your doctor about this interaction.
- Ginseng may also affect blood pressure treatments and diabetic medications like insulin or oral hypoglycemics.
Green tea is a popular drink that originated in China and has been promoted for stomach disorders, to lower cholesterol, as an anti-cancer antioxidant, as a stimulant, and to lessen belly fat, among other uses.
- Dried green tea leaves contain vitamin K, which can increase blood clotting. Large amounts of vitamin K may interfere with the activity of some blood thinners.
A commonly used flavoring agent, food product, and herbal supplement. There are many conditions garlic has been promoted for - to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, to prevent cancer, to lower blood sugar levels, and to reduce menstrual pain, among other uses. There are over 180 drug interactions with garlic, but most are reported as minor.
- Garlic has been reported to moderately affect blood clotting and blood sugar levels and may affect people who take blood-thinning agents like aspirin, warfarin, or clopidogrel (Plavix).
- Use of garlic supplements with HIV protease inhibitors (PI) may decrease the PI blood levels.
- There are other possible garlic interactions, so be sure to review all possible drug interactions with garlic and speak with your healthcare provider.
A flowering herb that grows in the northeast United States. Common uses for goldenseal include skin infections, cold and flu symptoms, and to treat diarrhea, but the evidence is weak for these uses.
- Serious interactions may occur with certain antipsychotic drugs - using pimozide or thioridazine with goldenseal is not recommended, as antipsychotic blood levels may rise leading to an irregular heart rhythm.
- Goldenseal may affect liver enzymes that can alter blood levels of certain drugs; always have your pharmacist run a drug interaction screen on all of your medicines, OTC drugs, or herbs.
The use of ginkgo extract dates back centuries in traditional Chinese medicine.
Ginkgo interacts with over 260 drugs; have a pharmacist check for interactions before use.
Ginkgo has been used for treating anxiety, dementia, circulation problems in the legs, premenstrual syndrome, certain vision problems, dizziness), or some movement disorders. Research has shown that Ginkgo Biloba is not likely to be effective in treating heart disease.
- Ginkgo may decrease the antiviral effects of drugs used in HIV, such as efavirenz.
- Avoid ginkgo in patients who take seizure medications and blood thinners.
Monday, March 15, 2021
So, You Think You Know The Longest and Weirdest Words?
Longest and weirdest words
Next time you need a password no one else will check you could try one of these:
1) Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
It’s a ‘contrived’ word – for an unpleasant lung disease usually known as silicosis. (The Oxford Dictionaries define it as "an artificial long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
2) Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
The fear of long words…. Yes, really. (Also known as Sesquipedalophobia – which is hardly a short word.) Healthline
3) Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
The longest uncontrived word (It’s an inherited thyroid disorder.) Wikipedia
Science and medicine have more than their fair share of weighty words.
4) Floccinaucinihilipilification
The longest unchallenged nontechnical word that not all directories recognize, that including Merriam-Webster. According to alternative sources, floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless. Oftentimes, it is used in a humorous way or on quiz shows.
5) If you can’t decide what to eat in a restaurant, you could always ask for Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon
(English translation of λοπαδο¬τεμαχο¬σελαχο¬γαλεο¬κρανιο¬λειψανο¬δριμ¬υπο¬τριμματο¬σιλφιο-καραβο¬μελιτο¬κατακεχυ¬μενο¬κιχλ¬επι¬κοσσυφο¬φαττο¬περιστερ¬αλεκτρυον¬οπτο¬κεφαλλιο¬κιγκλο-πελειο¬λαγῳο¬σιραιο¬βαφη¬τραγανο¬πτερύγων)
It's a fictional recipe used by Aristophanes, comprising 16 ingredients including several fish (including rotting shark’s head, meat from various birds and wine. Wikipedia
And finally, if you have 3 hours or so to spare – check out the pronunciation of the chemical name of titin, the largest know protein…it’s 189819 characters.
Next time you go to the pub quiz/online quiz or word game think of the words below.
A
word with three lots of double letters
Bookkeeper – has three sets of double letters – O, then K, then E. Also bookkeeping
Unusual
words - try to sneak these into
conversation.
Expergefactor
– is
anything that wakes you up. An alarm clock, a cockerel crowing, the neighbours
returning from a night out at 4am…
Zwodder
– a
drowsy and stupid state of body and mind. If you come back from that late
night/early morning after a night of ale-passion (used in the old way to mean
suffering not the modern way of lustful) you may suffer zerostomia (dry
mouth) and possibly even obdormition (having fallen asleep on your arm). You
may feel lucifugous too (‘fleeing the light’), after all the jactating
you did in bed. No – it doesn’t mean something rude….
Sesquipedalianism – the tendency to use long words…. I have this.
Words
without vowels:
By
Crypt
Fly
Flyby
Glycyl
Gypsy
Hymns
Hmm
Lynx
Myrrh
Myth
My
Nymphs
Nymphly
(another usage of nymph-like)
Psst
(contained in OED)
Pygmy
Rhythms
Shh
Shy
Shyly
Scry
Shy
Sky
Sync
Try
Trysts
Wry/Wryly
Xyst (a long and open portico in a gymnasium (Greek)
Without
y as a substitute vowel-
(These are of Welsh Origin – so don’t count as strictly English words). Welsh uses ‘w’ as a vowel sound
Crwth
(a
celtic stringed instrument)
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/crwth
Cwtch (a shed, cuddle or hiding place)
And
for a word with ONLY vowels, you could try Euouae – a
musical term from medieval times.
Uncopyrightable is an isogram. That
is a word that has no repeated letters. Another is Subdermatoglyphic
If you would like some more weird words check out this link https://www.grammarly.com/blog/14-of-the-longest-words-in-english/
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/cootch
https://wordfinder.yourdictionary.com/blog/21-english-words-without-vowels/
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/words-without-vowels.htm
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Who is the Killer? Did you Guess Right?
Who will be arrested for killing Mrs. O'Brian?
If you didn't yet, click to read the WhoDunIt story:
The conclusion of the story:
As the officers handcuffed Gerard, the janitor, Detective
Chance scanned the anxious women sitting on the floral-printed sofa. They nervously
glanced at the detective who paced in front of them. Flora, a middle-aged,
plump caregiver, Mrs. Banks, the manager of the apartment complex, a tall, bony
woman with a pointy nose and dark hair combed into a tight bun, and Tricia O’ Brian, the old lady’s drug addict niece.
“Today I hit two birds with one stone,” the detective scratched
his chin, towering over Flora.
The caregiver turned pasty white. “Not me! She did it!” she
screamed pointing at Mrs. Banks. “She goes into the apartments when nobody is
home.” Flora accused.
“Her alibi checks out,” the detective said. “She was seen on
the security cameras at the casino’s parking lot at eight, beating up her
husband, and they were arrested shortly after. They were not released until 3
AM.”
“Then it was the niece!” Flora accused. “Those damned drug
addicts would do anything for money.”
“I wouldn’t, I couldn’t!” Tricia protested. “I loved my
aunt.”
The detective looked into Flora’s eyes. “Flora Sweet, I’m arresting
you for murdering Mrs. O’Brian. You have the right to remain silent. Anything
you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right
to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any
questioning.”
“But how?” Mrs. Banks asked. “We entered the apartment
together.”
“It was the second time,” the detective turned to Mrs. Banks. “She visited Mrs. O’Brian the night before, shortly after the old lady called her. She ransacked the apartment looking for the lottery ticket, and when she couldn’t find it, she panicked. I didn’t have any proof until I heard what Flora told you a few minutes ago when she leaned closer to you and whispered, ‘Oh, my! Who could be so cruel to smother a sweet old lady to death?’. I never told anyone that Mrs. O’Brian was smothered. Only the killer knew that.”
We hope you've enjoyed our WhoDunIt mystery. The winners of the audiobooks will be notified via email.
by Alan Zacher and Erika M Szabo
Request a complimentary audiobook
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